Gear mechanism for fuel dispensing apparatus and the like



L. A. CARRIOL 2,986,951

GEAR MECHANISM FOR FUEL DISPENSING APPARATUS AND THE LIKE June 6, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 22, 1958 INVENTOR LOUIS A. CARRIOL BY WM fi 7 ATTOR EYS June 6, 1961 A. CARRIOL 2,936,951

GEAR MECHANISM FOR FUEL DISPENSING APPARATUS AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 22, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 63 mu m 9 INVENTOR LOUIS A. CARRIOL BY W, W,&Mowv1 a ATTORNEYS United States Patent F 2,986,951 GEAR MECHANISM FOR FUEL DISPENSING APPARATUS AND THE LIKE L'ouis A. Carriol, Aulnay-sous-Bois, France, assignor to Societe dEtudes, dlnventions et de Brevets-S.E.I.B.,

Paris, France Filed Dec. 22, 1958, Ser. No. 782,213 Claims priority, application France Dec. 30, 1957 6 Claims. (Cl. 74-348) The present invention relates to fuel dispensing apparatus and the like and more particularly to improvements in variable gear mechanisms for price indicators used in connection with such dispensing apparatus.

In the retail distribution of gasoline, for example, it is conventional to employ a dispensing pump having means thereon for indicating the total price of the fuel delivered during a dispensing operation. The price indicating means conventionally is driven by means such as a fluid motor, actuated by the flow of liquid through a delivery line. In the drive system for the price indicator there is provided variable gear means, which may be adjusted appropriately, in accordance with the price of a unit volume of the liquid.

One of the known variable gear mechanisms used for the purpose above described comprises a conical stack of gears, whose diameters are proportional to the integers 1 through 9. A plurality of pinions, usually three, is spaced circumferentially about the gear stack and the individual gears are adjustable along the conical stack for engagement with any of the gears thereof. The output rotations of the adjustable pinions are then added, so that rotations of the conical stack effect actuation of a cost indicator in accordance with a prevailing unit price. For example, fuel having a unit price of 31.6 cents per gallon may be regulated by setting three adjustable pinions of the variable mechanisms to engage with gears of the stack whose diameters are proportional to the integers 3, 1 and 6. The outputs of the pinions, properly geared to reflect tens, units and tenths, for example, are added to obtain, as an output, a price indication corresponding to the predetermined unit price. Mechanisms of this general type are, broadly, well known.

Frequently, particularly in foreign countries where currency units may be small, it is desirable to register unit price to four places. By way of example, the unit price of a gallon of gasoline may desirably be set at 31.65 cents per gallon. In such cases, it is necessary to provide four circumferentially spaced pinions about the conical stack. Heretofore, this has been difficult and impractical, because of limitations in the size of the parts to be used in the mechanism.

Conventionally, the smallest gear of the conical stack has a diameter proportional to the integer 1, while the largest gear has a diameter proportional to the integer 9. In other words, the largest diameter gear of the stack, in a conventional mechanism, is nine times the diameter of the smallest gear. It is therefore necessary and desirable to maintain the diameter of the smallest gear at a practical minimum, so that the complete device is of practical size.

A mechanism designed to accommodatefour adjustable pinions must, as a limit condition, provide for the ac- 'commodation of all four of such pinions about the smallest diameter gear, with each pinion being engaged with the gear and with some clearance being provided between each pinion. In a conventional mechanism, the use of four adjustable pinions is highly impractical since, to meet the limit conditions, the pinions must be of extremely small diameter. This renders the mechanism overly delicate, relatively expensive to manufacture and Patented June 6,1961

assemble, and subject to rapid wear-out due to the high speeds of the necessarily small pinions.

The present invention provides a variable gear mechanism of the general type described above, which readily accommodates four adjustable pinions of substantial size, yet which is scarcely larger in overall physical size than the prior, conventional mechanisms, using only three pinions. This desirable and advantageous result is achieved by providing that the smallest diameter gear of the stack be proportional to the integer 2 and that the largest diameter gear of the stack be proportional to an integer at least as great as 10. The largest diameter gear is rotatable separately from the remainder of the stack and is so connected in the drive train that its rotation corresponds to the rotation which would otherwise be effected by a gear having a diameter proportional to the integer 1.

By having, as the smallest gear of the conical stack, a gear whose diameter is proportional to the integer 2, the working diameter, about which the four pinions must be grouped, as a limit condition, is twice that of a conventional mechanism. This permits of the use of pinions of substantially larger diameter, providing a more practical and rugged mechanism. The overall size of the mechanism is increased only slightly, however.

For a better understanding of the invention reference should be made to the following detailed description and to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified, schematic representation of a gear mechanism constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a simplified, schematic representation of a slightly modified form of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken through the smallest gear of the conical stack, illustrating the limit condition, in which four pinions are grouped about the smallest diameter gear;

FIG. '4 is a plan view of the gear mechanism showing the shifting mechanism;

FIG. 5 shows the shift mechanism at one end of its travel; and

FIG. 6 shows the shift mechanism at the other end of its travel.

Referring now to the drawing, and initially to FIG. 1 thereof, the numeral 20 designates generally a conical gear stack, including a plurality of gears 2-9 mounted for rotation in unison on a shaft 21. The shaft 21 may be journalled on opposite sides of the gear stack and is advantageously arranged to be driven by a fluid motor 22 placed in the delivery line 23 of a liquid delivery system, such as used in the dispensing of gasoline, for example.

Spaced circumferentially about the gear stack 20 is a plurality of pinions (advantageously numbering greater than three). In the illustrated apparatus, four such pinions 24-27 are used, all four pinions being visible in FIG. 3 and pinions 24-26 being visible in FIG. 1.

The several pinions 24-27 are mounted for independent adjustment along the conical gear stack, whereby each each pinion may be caused to engage with any of the gears 2-9 of the stack. Appropriate mechanisms for adjustably mounting the pinions 24-27 are well known, a typical form of such mechanism being illustrated in the copending application of Andre F. M. Blanchet et al., Ser. No. 644,352, filed March 6, 1957, for Apparatus for Metering and Dispensing Liquid Mixtures, now US. Patent No. 2,898,002, granted August 4, 1959.

In a conventional mechanism of the type herein concerned, the "smallest gear of the conical stack has a diameter proportional .to the integer 1, while the gear 9 has a diameter proportional to the integer 9, thereby being nine times the diameter of the smallest gear. .However,

in accordance with the present invention, the diameter of the gear 2 is proportional to the integer 2 and the gears 3-9 have diameters proportional to the integers 3-9, respectively.

Mounted freely on the main drive shaft 21, directly below the large diameter gear 9 of the stack, is a gear 10, whose diameter is proportional to the integer 10. As will be apparent in FIG. 1, the location of the gear 10, axially, with respect to the main stack 20, is such that the general conical outline of the stack is continued. Accordingly, the pinions 2447 may be adjusted along the stack to mesh with the large diameter gear 10, if desired.

The gear 10 is driven by a speed reducing mechanism comprising a driving pinion 28 fixed to the main drive shaft 21, a differential gear 29-30 journalled on a stud shaft 31 extending from a base plate 32, and a gear 3-3, which may be formed integrally with the gear 10. In accordance with the invention, the gear train 28-33 is arranged to provide for a speed reduction ratio between the main shaft 21 and the gear 10 equal to UP, where the diameter of the gear 10 is proportional to the integer P. In the mechanism illustrated in FIG. 1, where the gear 10 is proportional in diameter to the integer 10, the speed reduction afforded by the gear train 28-33 is 1/10. That is, the gear 10 will move through one complete revolution for each ten revolutions of the main drive shaft 21.

As will be understood, the provision of a gear whose diameter is proportional to the integer P and the driving of such gear at a reduced speed equal to l/P times the revolutions of the shaft 21 results in effective movement of the gear 10 which is identical to the effective movement which would otherwise result from a gear whose diameter was proportional to the integer 1 and which was driven directly by the shaft 21.

In the operation of the mechanism of FIG. 1, the several pinions 24-27 are first adjustably positioned to engage selected ones of the gears 2-10. For this purpose, any suitable mechanism, such as that shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the copending Blanchet etal. patent, may be provided for effecting stepwise adjusting movement of the pinions along the outline of the cone. Such a mechanism, indicated schematically by broken lines leading to the pinions in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises suitable means for advancing the gears step-wise along the stack and appropriate guide means for the pinions whereby they are moved radially inward or outward to mesh properly with the adjacent gear of the conical stack. As stated in the Blanchet et al. patent, the actual output motion may be realized by rotation of an output shaft associated with each pinion and mounted on a fixed axis. The pinions 24-27 drive the output shaft in any operative position of inward and outward adjustment with respect to the axis of the conical gear stack.

With specific reference to FIGS. 4-6, the pinion 24, for example, may be mounted on a bracket 60 carried slidably and pivotally by a shaft 61. The shaft 61 is mounted for rotation about a fixed axis and is connected in driving relation with the mechanism 34.

The shaft 61 is splined and mounts a gear 62 in a manner such that the gear is slidable on the shaft 61 while being non-rotatable with respect thereto. The gear 62 is positioned between spaced arms of the bracket 60, so as to move with the bracket longitudinally along the shaft 61.

The bracket 60 is so arranged, with respect to the gears 62, 24, that the gears are at all times in mesh, regardless of the longitudinal position thereof and regardless of the pivotal position of the bracket. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the shaft 61 may be connected in driving relation to any of the gears of the conical stack, by sliding the bracket 60 to the level of the gear and swinging the bracket 60 to a position such that the pinion 24 engages the gear of the stack. a

As explained in the before-mentioned Blanchet et al.

patent, the desired manipulation of the gears is effected by means of a threaded shaft 63, which is eccentrically journalled at 64. A link 65 is threadedly connected to the shaft 63 and connects the bracket at a pivot point 66. The lead of the thread is such-that a single revolution of the shaft 63 advances the link a distance equal to the spacing between gears of the conical stack. Further, by reason of the eccentric mounting of the shaft 63, a full rotation thereof will cause the bracket 60 to be rocked back and forth to efi'ect disengagement of the pinion 24 from the stack and subsequent reengagement of the pinion with the next gear of the stack.

Since the stack of gears is of conical form, the shaft 63 is disposed at such an angle with respect to the axis of the stack as to cause the bracket 60 to be pivoted through an angle appropriate to carry the gear 24 into registry with the desired gear of the conical stack. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the disposition of the shaft 63 is such that the shafts 61 and 63 are relatively closer at the lower portion of the stack than at the upper portion, such that the bracket 60 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction as the link 65 and bracket 60 are advanced upward by rotations of the shaft 63.

The outputs of the various pinions 24-27,, which may conventionally include other gear means (not shown), are connected to an appropriate mechanism 34, which elfects a summation of the rotations of the individual pinions, properly weighted by reduction means to refiect the decimal position assigned to the pinion. The output of the mechanism 34 may then be used to drive a suitable indicator 35, which may consist, for example, of a plurality of counter drums.

An alternative form of the invention is shown in FIG. 2. The modified apparatus comprises a gear stack 20 having conically arranged gears 2-9 whose diameters are proportional to the integers 2-9, respectively. Mounted on the shaft 51, which carries the conical gear stack 20, is a gear 11. The gear 11 is rotatable on the shaft but is drivingly connected thereto by means of a gear train including pinion 52, compound gear S354 and a gear 55 integral with the gear 11. In accordance with the invention, the gear 11 is spaced below the gear 9 a distance equal to the thickness of one gear of the stack, and the diameter of the gear 11 is proportional to the integer 11. Accordingly, the gear 11 continues the conical outline of the stack, its size and location being the same as if a gear having a diameter proportional to the integer 10 were interposed between the gears 9 and 11.

The speed reduction ratio of the gear train 5255 is, again, 1/P, where P equals the integer to which the diameter of the gear 11 is proportional. Thus, the gear 11 of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 is rotated at the rate of one revolution per each eleven revolutions of the drive shaft 51, so that the effective rotation of the gear 11 is the same as would be the effective rotation of a gear of the stack whose diameter was proportional to the integer l.

The operation of the modified mechanism of FIG. 2 is substantially the same as the mechanism of FIG. 1. The practical difference between the two mechanisms resides in the location of the zero position for the output pinions. Thus, it may be desirable to position one or more ofthe pinions out of engagement with any of the gears of the stack, as when the unit price of the liquid to be delivered includes a zero as one of the four integers. In the mechanism of FIG. 1, the appropriate pinion may be adjusted to a position below the lowermost gear 10. In the mechanism of FIG. 2, on the other hand, the zero position of a pinion lies between the gears 9 and 11.

Perhaps the most important advantage of the invention resides in the fact that a complete variable gear mechanism may be provided which accommodates at least four pinions cooperating with gears of various diameters and which is only negligibly larger than similar mechanisms of prior design incorporating only three output pinions.

In this respect, FIG. 3 illustrates an important limit condition of the mechanism, in which all four of the pinions 24-27 are grouped about and in engagement with the smallest "diameter gear of the stack. In the mechanism of the invention, this gear has a diameter proportional to the integer 2, whereas in prior mechanisms the diameter of the uppermost gear was proportional to the integer 1. Accordingly, the four output pinions may be grouped about a diameter which, other things being equal, is twice the size of the uppermost gear of prior mechanisms. The output gears may thus be greatly enlarged, as compared with prior mechanisms, while still providing adequate clearance between gears grouped at the limit position. As a result, the mechanism, whose overall size is usually necessarily limited by its intended environment, has a substantially increased operating life, as compared to a mechanism of prior design having equivalent functional features. Such increased operating life results from the fact that the larger output pinions 24-27 may be of more rugged construction, as may be the mechanism immediately associated therewith, and the output pinions travel at a reduced speed, resulting in substantially reduced wear.

It should be understood that the specific forms of the invention herein illustrated and described are intended to be representative only, as certain changes may be made therein without departing from the clear teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following appended claims in determining the full scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a variable gear drive for a liquid dispensing systern or the like, the combination of a rotatable input shaft, a conical stack of gears rotatable with said input shaft, a conversion gear mounted on said input shaft adjacent the largest gear of the stack and rotatable relative to the shaft, speed reducing gear means interconnecting the input shaft and the conversion gear, and a plurality of output pinions positioned about and movable axially of the stack and engageable selectively with the gears of the stack and the conversion gear.

2. The variable gear drive of claim 1, in which the conversion gear is of larger diameter than any gear of the stack, and the speed reducing gear means drives the con version gear at an effective speed less than any gear of the stack.

3. The variable gear drive of claim 1, in which the gears of the stack are eight in number and have diameters proportional to the integers 2 through 9, the conversion gear has a diameter proportional to the integer P, which is greater than 9, and the speed reducing gear means has a speed reduction ratio of 1/P.

4. The variable gear drive of claim 3, in which P equals 10.

5. The variable gear drive of claim 3, in which P is greater than 10, and the conversion gear is spaced axially from the stack by an amount equal to the thickness of at least one pinion of the stack.

6. The variable gear drive of claim 1, in which the output pinions are greater than three in number and are spaced uniformly, circumferentially, about the axis of the stack.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

